So I wrote this on Feb 16th (when I first started the article):(Sigh of relief) finally finally finally [hip-hop] music is getting good again– and no I’m not talking about Drake, Kid Cudi, or even Wale (those guys are all really cool) I’m moreso speaking of the Bobby Ray’s and Theophilus London’s of the world– the artists with the unique versatile sounds.

Theophilus London first grabbed my attention when I heard his remix to Solange’s “Sand Castle Black x Blue” a year or so ago. Since then I’ve been secretly addicted… a few of my favorites from his charming mixtape: “Want You for Myself” (Peter Hadar featuring Theophilus London), “Grey X Sage” (his remix to the international hit Sabali), and “Always Love You” (a poppy electronic version of Whitney Houston’s hit song).

And now on May 31st:Well, I’ve spent the last three weeks entranced with his latest mixtape,I Want You. Between his new album and Janelle Monae’s The ArchAndroid, minus a few rounds of Ella, Sammy, and Frank, it seems like the new-wave of music is all my itunes player knows. (Oh and Lykke Li has been getting alot of play too)

His cover of Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You”, Tweets “Oops”, and the mysteriously erotic beats of “Soles Of Fire (Chauffeur)” float around in my top three. (The first 57 seconds of Soles Of Fire, can’t be described as anything but sexy, the beat goes hard and it’s also very sexy). Matter of fact, just listen to it yourself…

To authentically get Theophilus’s style you’d have to spend your days in vintage and thrift stores and on sites like etsy and ebay. And I know its often hard to dig through the thousands of threads these stores have, but you have to get in the mindset of shopping there like it’s the only option you have, lol. Once you lock-down on that mindset it’ll be much easier to have visions for the clothing these stores offer (and it wouldn’t hurt to have some inspiration photos in your pocket or on your phone).

But if you don’t have the time for all that,well you can scoop his look below:

HAT BY AMONGST FRIENDS; SUNGLASSES BY MOSCOT; TRENCH COAT BY NOM DE GUERRE; T-SHIRT BY RALPH LAUREN PURPLE LABEL; PANTS BY C.P. COMPANY

HAT BY STUSSY DELUXE; GLASSES BY BALENCIAGA; JACKET BY Y-3; SWEATER BY VICTOR GLEMAUD; BELT BY J.LINDEBERG; JEANS BY LEVI’S; SNEAKERS BY NIKE

And as far as his album, well…

“Shortly before we got his third mixtape I WANT YOU, Theophilus London released a DIY promo video for the track “Life Of A Lover”. The record loops lazily to show us a new look: pretty girls dancing with each other at a show, young dudes headnodding, the crush of cameras and hard flash that now follows us everywhere we go, a cut to Theophilus in monochrome riding in a Vespa gang through Chinatown en route to Brooklyn and then back to the dance—a mic cord drifting slowly in and out of the frame and his hand reaching out to bring a girl on stage. That is all and this is it: inspired by Marvin Gaye’s self-imposed European exile and controversial performance of the national anthem at the 1983 NBA All Star game, I WANT YOU is a collection of dark jams that restlessly examines the promise of love beyond lifestyle. Touching on LA electrofunk, UK indie, tropical escapade and obscure afropop you never knew existed, these are stories from the way we live now: missed connections and misunderstandings, video chats and retweets, returns and deliverables. We know today is all black everything but more to the point: this is now noir as we know it. And this is Theophilus London.”

I think this is going to be Bobby Ray Day over here at The Urban Gentleman– it’s the least I can do for a fellow Eastsider and friend. All the new album info is on the previous post, and as discussed we’re all copping it for $7.99 at Amazon. Now, we’re going to focus on the style of B.o.B aka Bobby Ray.

Like most new artist Bobby’s style isn’t quite set in stone, I’m sure he’s still dealing with contractual duties and wearing the threads that the sponsors and record label’s stylist provides. But within all of that he still manages to add his personal touch to most of the ensembles he sports.

It’s safe to say that when it comes to Bobby, there’s two dimensions, two personas, two __(fill in blank with an appropriate word)__: B.o.B and Bobby Ray… and yes they are the same person, but as made apparent by his 2nd mixtape “B.o.B vs Bobby Ray” they’re almost completely opposite, not only in sound, but in looks and overall style.

“Jock it, Love it, Own it.“

Check out BoB’s vs Bobby Ray’s style below…

The Style of B.o.B

“B.o.B…. Uno is my numeral, they said that hip-hop was dead, hmph, I musta missed the funeral”. B.o.B doesn’t like to be categorized in a genre, but humbly accepts the fact that guys like him are bringing back hip-hop… making it respectable again, making it an art form, making it the feel good music it once was instead of the, well, ummm– crappiness it had become.

And with his hip-hop flavor, BoB brings the one day classic 2010-ish hip-hop style. An eye-catching graphic tee, sneakers, a cool jacket (if the season calls for it), trendy shades, and maybe an optional well thought-out tattoo or two, is all it takes to get his look down.

“B dot O dot B was the name, I ain’t like Bobby Ray, cuz I was ashamed, but you can call me Bobby Ray from this day forth and I could give a damn about the fame and fortune…” Now Bobby Ray, the artist, from Atlanta, the eastside of Atlanta, yeah, well he can’t be put into a box. He’s some type of southern mosaic of indie alternative country rock&roll hip-hop pop… basically alot of stuff in one. And his style reflects just that.

I slightly prefer Bobby Ray’s style at this point, only because his fedora collection is sick! And he manages to wear them without looking cheesy. He just looks like a really cool southern guy (georgia born and bred)… I can think of several artist that should take note, I would call names, buuuuut I won’t.

He’s given us 3 of the hottest mixtapes around for $0.00, with hot songs like Generation Lost,Mellow Fellow, Satellite, No Man’s Land, Put Me On, Champion, I Bet I Bust, Nothing on You, and my personal favorite Surprise Me (“Geee whitakers batman holy satellites”, lol)…. so with 3 (free) albums and sooooo many amazing songs, we Have to buy his new album “The Adventures of Bobby Ray“…. so go ahead and head over to iTunes and purchase it, or Amazon and purchase it, or to your local record store and purchase it. But I suggest just getting it right now for 8 bucks on Amazon. The album features one of my other BoB favorites Lovelier Than You. Oh, and if you’re a true-to-heart music head then you can buy the vinyl here.

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